Better Iced Coffee

With the summer solstice behind us and long, warm days ahead, I’ve had iced coffee on my mind. When we lived in Brooklyn, I loved an iced coffee with breakfast in the morning. But here in Berkeley, most summer mornings are cool (June Gloom and Fog-ust are real) and I wake up craving the feeling of a warm mug in my hands. My favorite time for iced coffee is right after lunch or in the early afternoon, when the sun is shining and I’m ready for a little pick-me-up to help propel me through the rest of the day. Those packaged containers of cold-brew coffee in the refrigerated aisle at the grocery store are delicious, but they can also be expensive—plus, making iced coffee at home is quick and easy. 

The trick is making good iced coffee at home. I’ve tried a few different methods, including pour-over, chilled espresso, and 12-hour cold brew. Sometimes the coffee tasted watery or too acidic, and the results weren’t all that predictable unless I was super precise in measuring everything with a scale. I know that using a scale is the most accurate way to brew coffee, but I just don’t have time for that these days! I needed a method that I could rely on for brewing excellent iced coffee with minimum effort. After much trial and error, I landed on a way to make better iced coffee.

My newfound process involves a moka pot, the classic Italian hourglass-shaped coffee maker. Moka pots are affordable, unlike many other coffee gadgets, and I think they look pretty stylish in your kitchen, too. I use a 6-cup Bialetti moka pot. (The size is based on number of espresso cups, not standard American coffee cups. Six makes a good volume of iced coffee to serve two or three people generously.)

All the same rules for using a moka pot apply here. There are fantastic tutorials online written by some of my favorite roasters, and I wrote the full details of how to use a moka pot in my book The Newlywed Table, but the upshot is you end up with strong espresso in a matter of minutes. 

The next step is key: add a big spoonful of brown sugar to the hot espresso and stir until it has dissolved completely. Mixing in sugar adds sweetness, obviously, but it also improves the texture, making the coffee rich, syrupy, and viscous, which is lovely for iced coffee.

Then place the sweetened coffee in an airtight container (like a lidded jar) in the fridge until it has chilled thoroughly. You can store it for up to one week, although you’ll probably drink it before then since it’s intentionally not a huge quantity.

When you’re ready to enjoy the iced coffee, pour it over ice cubes in a glass and add a glug of cream, oat milk, or your preferred milk. Ecco! Better iced coffee that’s speedy and simple to make.